This Case is Why Pcards Have Protocols

Pcards are a great tool when proper protocols are established and followed. This post is a cautionary tale of what can happen when an organization issues pcards without user instructions and spending guidelines.

Rather than a college or university, the setting for this tale is a public school district. But the problems featured illustrate why WSU has robust spending and documentation requirements for its pcards.

Critical Failure

Champaign News-Gazette - Audit: Champaign district's lack of policy on pcards resulted in critical failure

The fallout from insufficient guidance was threefold:

1. A variety of interpretations of what constitutes an appropriate expenditure.
2. An ever-present culture of hospitality and gift giving.
3. Misappropriation of district resources.

The (audit) report also pointed at administrators' "avoidance" of the issue and lack of policy as compounding the problem.  

Even though employees generally want to do the right thing, Champaign's conditions show what can happen without clear-cut guidance. It only takes someone to begin stretching what's considered acceptable when others model the behavior. It becomes the new norm. 

For example (emphasis mine):

"... the district has long had a culture of hospitality, including providing food or snacks at meetings, working lunches at local restaurants, catered meals for interview teams, food at committee meetings and seemingly regular practice of always having food and snacks in the office."

"... pricier purchases were also made - often for catered meetings - at Panera Bread ($36,776), Jimmy Johns ($24,222), and Papa Del's ($15,002), contributing to the $293,258 spent on food over the course of three years."

Similarly, the deputy superintendent spent nearly $3,000 on gift cards at Sam's and Walgreens in May 2017, and district-wide gift card purchases totaled $12,000 over 18-months from July 2017 to December 2018. 

The audit firm recommended that the district adopt the following best practices:

1. Implement training on card usage.
2. Put limits on cardholders' use.
3. Add supervisor review and oversight.
4. Create a cardholder agreement specific to district policy.

The Business Procurement Card Program at WSU has included all four practices from its inception.

WSU Policy Manual Guidance

Because gift cards and food purchases are sensitive to abuse or can give the appearance of impropriety, the WSU Policy Manual offers specific guidance for navigating these topics.

Key passages:

The university often conducts business where it becomes necessary to provide official hospitality for outside guests or food or drink for university business. Expenditures shall be in accordance with good business practices that include sound justifications for and adequate documentation of expenditures.

Key passages:

University employees may be given a gift by the university if it is valued at less than $40 and the gift is given at a ceremony or public function. No cash or cash equivalent, i.e., gift cards, may be given as a gratuity, gift, or other favor to a university employee from any fund source.